OT: Exciting Program Add-Ons + Covid-19 Precautions to Date!

07 Sep OT: Exciting Program Add-Ons + Covid-19 Precautions to Date!

Telluride-based Original Thinkers (OT) is a thoughtful ideas festival regularly scheduled for September 30 – October 3, 2021, in Telluride – and this year, virtually 10/1 – 10/31.

The weekend generally features 10 programs, each built around a particular idea explored through a compelling mix of speakers, films, performance, and art. The program typically delves into the human condition by focusing on the intersection of ideas and individual stories.

Program is here.

More from Original Thinkers here.

The following is a note from OT Founder and Ringleader David Holbrooke about program additions to the in-person 2021 event – which should show up in the virtual event as well.

Explore program additions here.

David Holbrooke

Dear Original Thinkers –

Putting together a festival in a pandemic is no easy feat, but we believe original thinking is needed now, more than ever. As hard and uncertain it is these days, gathering is still crucial to what makes us human. Earlier this summer, we announced much of the programming for our in-person event in Telluride this September 30-October 3rd and now we have added a bunch of knockout names to the list of people coming to town.

— Mick and Caskey Ebeling of Not Impossible Labs create solutions for what they call “absurdities,” using technology that helps humans access the world in new ways. They will contribute to “Into The After” talking about their partnership and what they have been able to achieve as a couple.

— Jennifer Grancio is the CEO of Engine No.1, the hedge fund that focuses on the climate crisis that cleverly placed four board members on Exxon’s board. She will speak at Into the After about how innovation in the financial sector can help lower our carbon output.

— Peter Coyote, longtime actor and narrator of hundreds of documentaries and audio books, will give a Dharma talk as part of our “OT Spotlight” series.

— Malcolm London is a poet and activist whose work in the Black Lives Matter movement has been seminal. He will do a spoken word performance for an “OT Spotlight.”

— Nonny de la Peña is considered the Godmother of VR and her Emblematic Group continues to innovate and understand this still new technology in unique ways. She will speak in “Truth Decay” about deep fakes and what that means to our sense of veracity.

— Recording artist Chris Pierce has a rare hearing disorder that has not stopped him from writing incisive protest songs and touring with Seal, Toots and the Maytals and Jill Scott, amongst others. He will speak about his work and play Saturday night at the Telluride Transfer Warehouse.

— Sonja Lyubomirsky is a happiness expert who will contribute to the conversation around the new film by Louie Psihoyos, “Mission: Joy as part of Joy is an Inside Job.”

— Gwen Thompkins is a journalist and writer who has brilliantly hosted OT shows before and will speak about the importance of silent spaces in music.

— Lenore Dowling and Rosa Manriquez are nuns who are stars of the new documentary, “Rebel Hearts” about the radical Sisters who upended what the Catholic Church expected from these women.

— Rachel Kolar is engaged in a deep study of psychedelics and will talk about her work with 5MEO-DMT as part of an “OT Spotlight.:

— Musicians Lizzy Plotkin, Brigid Kaelin, Gabrielle Louise, Kiran Oohmen and Tiffany Thompson will open shows with 30 minute sets.

We are looking forward to seeing these guests grace our stages at the Sheridan Opera House and the Telluride Transfer Warehouse September 30 – October 3.

We are quickly running out of “Big Idea” passes and will soon sell ou,  but we will also be recording all of these shows, talks and performances so they will be available virtually as well. Adding even more to our stellar programming, we will be announcing our virtual-only lineup next week, which will include all the live guests above and already announced.

Of course, we are closely monitoring the COVID situation, which is changing and adjusting our planning and protocols as needed. In the meantime, I am really proud of what our OT team has put together and look forward to sharing the rest of it with you all soon.

Thanks and take good care…

OT & Covid-19:

We are in regular contact with our local County Health officials and other event producers about their own protocols and what we can learn from them. As of now, the consistent counsel has been to move forward smartly with all the appropriate precautions in place.

At our festival in Telluride this fall, we will require proof of vaccination and a negative test for everyone involved in the festival including all staff, guests and audience members. We may also require our audience to be masked during indoor shows.

The majority of our programs will be held at the historic Sheridan Opera House, which has a new ventilation system. We have also reserved the Transfer Warehouse, a terrific outdoor venue with four walls and no roof, making it an ideal open-air space to gather if the Opera House is problematic come festival time.

We have already cut back on how many in-person passes are available in case we need to reduce numbers in the Opera House. While that offers some challenges for our business, health and safety is paramount.

Please let us know if you have any concerns about any of this and we look forward to seeing you all in Telluride before too long.